According to Spanish daily AS, the veteran playmaker will make his final appearance for the Bianconeri in this weekend's Champions League final, before leaving the Italian champions for a new project.

Pirlo, 36, will walk away from the Turin club after four years with the Old Lady, having won the Serie A title in each of those seasons.

The paper claims Pirlo has "accepted" a proposal from New York, having spoken to the club's CEO Ferran Soriano.

It reckons that although Pirlo has a contract until June 2016 with Juventus, he will exit that deal one year early, to begin a new project in Major League Soccer.

Scheme: Pirlo in Champions League action for the Bianconeri (Image: Getty)

New York City FC have been looking for another Designated Player signing, to stand alongside its other DPs - Lampard, who completes his protracted transfer this summer, and Spain's all-time record goalscorer David Villa.

The MLS expansion team, who only entered the league this year, had previously been interested in a move for Barcelona skipper Xavi Hernandez, but saw him choose a move to Qatari-side Al Sadd instead.

New York have struggled in their debut campaign thus far, winning just one of 13 Eastern Conference matches.